


Sherlock Flash Fic/Writing Prompt Notes/WIPs

by PoppyAlexander



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Flash Fic, Gen, M/M, Prompt Fic, gridlockDC writing workshop, not so good, wips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-23
Updated: 2014-08-23
Packaged: 2018-02-14 07:57:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2183925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoppyAlexander/pseuds/PoppyAlexander
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two writing prompts from the Fan Fic Roundtable/Workshop at gridLOCKDC, 16AUG14</p><p>These are notes, not even drafts!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Five Part Prompt; Hands; non-favoured character POV

I moderated a table at the Fan Fic Roundtable at gridLOCKDC in August, 2014. We discussed writing from a particular character's point-of-view either out of habit or enjoyment or ease-of-use, and touched a little on varying POVs among first person, third person, third person omniscient, etc. My challenge to the writers present was to attempt to write in a non-favoured character's voice, or at least from their perspective, and to think about varying their choice of first- vs. third-person POV.

My first prompt was my very favourite prompt from my days as a poet. It is in five parts, and the trick is that the writers did not know what the five parts were ahead of time. This freed them to address each part of the prompt as an entity unto itself, without worrying about how a current section might lead into a later one. We wrote each section for only two minutes. After we were done with the prompt, we each read from/talked about what we had created, and I reminded the writers that they could take these five paragraphs absolutely anywhere--it could become a poem or a story, the sections could be woven together out of order, or parts from any section could be married to any other. I am anxious to read what comes out of our work that evening!

Here is the prompt, with my work, which is NOTES. This is not even a draft! (god I feel like I'm letting you look in my underwear drawer! I never share drafts or notes)

**I. Describe a person's hands.**

John's hands are short-fingered, scarred. He has hangnails he can't stop biting--won't stop biting, really. There is an interesting callus on the right pointer finger one might think he got from firing his gun but which is really from his pen. His nails are never bitten--he gave up that habit as a young kid.

**II. Describe something they are doing with their hands.**

When John cleans his gun he is methodical, precise. He disassembles the gun in a specific order and sets each piece aside, lines them up just so. He cleans a gun that doesn't need cleaning. he is all business, no love. He is not gentle, not kind. He is a machine.

**III. Use a metaphor to describe a location.**

The Met is a hive of bees, working, busy, no connection among workers. Everyone hands in his work to the queen and doesn't bother to find out what the higher purpose is. The "queen" coalesces it--sometimes. The disjointed nature of the work is the reason the Met needs Sherlock Holmes, the one who can put it all together.

**IV. Ask the person a question.**

I wonder if you've ever been happy--have you really ever laughed out loud, from your gut? There is something about you that seems so sad. I worry.

**V. The person notices you, and replies, but in a way that makes it clear they have misheard the question you asked.**

"I'm fine, it's not trouble," you say. "All automatic now." You think I've asked you if you're all right, in this moment. It makes me feel unimportant.

*

So that is clearly AWFUL and not going to turn into anything. There's not one useful or compelling thing here. _Maybe_ the thing where Sherlock says John is a machine. That could be interesting to look at. So, if nothing else, there's that.


	2. Story Structure and Format

The second thing we talked about at the roundtable was varying the structure of a story, telling stories in various forms other than a "fairy tale" structure of a a beginning, middle, and end, with all narrative elements placed in chronological order. Some ideas were: email or text exchanges, hand-written letters, a journal meant for public consumption (blog) or a journal meant to never be read by anyone (diary), a phone call from jail, a speech, and others. I asked the writers to choose one of these unusual formats as inspiration and we wrote for five minutes. Most chose texting, two chose the "phone call from jail."

I chose texting, and this is what I wrote:

*

God I'm exhausted.

You never get exhausted.

I know. That's why it's worth saying. It's notable. Improbable.

So to what do we owe your exhaustion?

Film Noir.

OK, not the answer I was expecting.

It's. . .

[minutes pass]

It's???

Sexy?

Ha!

I'm going to shut my phone off if you're going to laugh at me.

I'm not laughing at you. So sexy you're exhausted?

There's a lot of subtext. Everything's double entendres. How does anyone communicate anything when it's all double entendre?

Exhausted, you said.

Yes. I'm going to sleep.

I'll be right there.

*

Again, nothing here to do much with. It's just a sort of cute(ish), playful(ish) text exchange about nothing. Probably the best bit of this is that it's clear at the end that they're actually in the flat together, but texting instead of just talking to each other.


End file.
